What's the difference between a "normal open" relay and a "change over" relay ?
I am getting narva ones for my setup and they have these two types... Which ones do I want? Or does it not matter. The cheaper ones only seem to come in one non specified type so I am a bit confused...

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850

since you bumped it up Tim, I shall comment that since installing the lights and bulbs 55/60 I am not finding them as good as I had hoped. Not as bright as I had hoped. Still much better than the lucas ones, but I will be wanting to get some brighter bulbs for my Sydney road trip for sure. Something to keep in mind for others buying the 55/60 bulbs.

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

Thing to remember is if you have plastic reflectors or lense you can't really upgrade the globes as they will generate more heat and melt the plastic.
I have 100/160 watt globes in NAV but I also have glass lights so heat isnt as big an issue.

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I really find this surprising. The new halogen bulbs glow crystal clear and bright. They're the same globes fitted to every new car under the sun (excluding HID) , so theoretically they will throw the same number of Lumens as any new modern car if all is well with the fit out.

Which wires did you upgrade (if any) when you did the conversion, any weak link in the relay to light to ground path will bottleneck the current you're pushing through, and generate both heat and voltage drop at the lights. This includes the light to ground link as well. The original wiring is (barely) capable when new and in good shape at all ends, but is now forty years old and should be upgraded for the best outcome imho from the relay to the lights and then to ground..

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I agree with Mick, and thats why I upgraded the wires all the way to the lights and upgraded the earth as well.
Very worth while upgrade in any mini. Not just ones with upgraded headlights

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yep wiring was beaved up at the same time. The ones that go to the lights.

Sounds like I might go for some lights like yours Matt, im guessing they are pricey? I mean the ones I bought the 55/60 where over the $50 mark, so yours must be horribly $$ over the 100 mark im guesing?

What plastic thing are you both talking about? Not the plastic buckets that the whole light assembly sits in?

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

Yea, yea yea, whatever... Who cares about lochi's problems...
What about my question... Haha...
Is there a difference between the types of relays?

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850

no pick me, pick me,,, ..

umm I forgot what your question was now Tim.. I'll have to stop writing and go look..

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

answer to your question...

Ummmm have no idea. Best to let someone else who knows the answer to answer it

I just get 2 x 5 pin Narva ones from supercrap with the removable fuses, and away you go.. have for years and no drama's...

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

The difference is important.

Normally Open relays are just like a light switch. They are normally off (contacts are "Open") and then when you apply 12 volts, they are then on (contacts are "Closed"). Hence they are called normally open contact relays. This constitutes the vast majority of relays you will see in use on a modern car, simply used for turning high power things on.

Changeover relays operate just like a normally open relay, except for one difference. They have an extra contact which is "closed" when the relay is switched off so you can operate something else opposite to the other output pin, one is off while the other is on.

In this application, when the changeover relay is off, then it will supply 12 volts to the low beam circuit. When the relay is on, then it will supply 12 volts to the high beam circuit. Hence the term Changeover.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Ok, I think I understand...
So if I have a changeover relay I only need the one relay... Correct?
Or have I got it confused???
Or do I still need to run 2 separate relays ?

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850

Two.

One normally open relay to provide power to the relay when you turn the light switch on.

And one changeover relay to change the light from low beam to high.

There's wiring diagrams in the how-to section to show you how.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

ok, no probs
Yea i got the wiring sorted, just didn't know the difference between the relays..

Thanks

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850

Or just two normals...one on high circuit and one on low.....

I prefer to fit a proper headdlamp double relay, New Era or similar. The New Era one comes with 2x 30A plug-in blade fuses on it.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.